Some Harvey victims say basic housing repair program falling short

Jonny Guilarte Rodriguez replaces sheetrock while Nilsa Almira cleans up the debris at Tracy Wilson's flooded house on Thursday, March 1, 2018, in Houston. Wilson signed up for Texas Rebuild's PREPS program, which is a FEMA housing program that provides up to $20,000 in repair work for flooded homes, to fix her house. ( Yi-Chin Lee / Houston Chronicle )

Jonny Guilarte Rodriguez replaces sheetrock while Nilsa Almira...

Some Hurricane Harvey victims and housing advocates say a program designed to make flooded residents’ homes livable while they await more comprehensive repairs has fallen short of even its modest goals, leaving some homeowners no better off than when contractors arrived.

The Texas General Land Office has issued work orders for 6,884 homes in Houston as part of the Partial Repair and Essential Power for Sheltering, or PREPS, program, and has completed work in 83 percent of them. Some homeowners view those repairs as far from complete, however, complaining of new doors that do not latch, new drywall that covers up electrical outlets, wobbly toilets or worse.

“They did tear out the sheetrock and demolish most of my kitchen and bathroom, then they said they couldn’t continue, that the repairs had exceeded their budget, and they walked out,” said southeast Houston resident Mark Anthony Rubio. “I’d like PREPS to come back and fix what they broke, that’s all. It’s not right that they’re wasting taxpayers’ money to make things worse.”

In the two weeks Rubio said it took him to restore his home to order, he showered at his brother’s home in Pearland and visited a nearby Jack in the Box to use the restroom so frequently that he memorized the menu.

More Information

Homeowners who have concerns about the work performed on their homes through the PREPS program should call the General Land Office hotline at 888-610-1622 or email info@prepstexasrebuilds.com.

General Land Office spokeswoman Brittany Eck encouraged concerned homeowners to contact her agency, saying staff are responsive to complaints and are monitoring contractors’ performance.

She added, however, that many homeowner complaints about incomplete or inadequate work are the result of a misunderstanding of the PREPS program and its limited scope. Gaps between sheets of drywall, for instance, exist because the program does not pay for the finishing work needed to complete a wall.

Rubio’s file shows that contractors discovered additional problems that drove the scope of work needed at his home over the maximum PREPS budget, Eck said, adding that his case remains pending.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, through the GLO, gives eligible Harvey victims up to $20,000 in repairs through PREPS, which is designed to turn residents’ homes into an extension of emergency shelters, providing them, essentially, one livable bedroom and one private bathroom.

Under PREPS, about 13,500 Texans have had their homes gutted of soggy sheetrock and received new water heaters, drywall, sinks and eight feet of countertop in their kitchens; work is underway on the last 3,500 homes now.

Though the program is intended as a quick fix, state officials negotiated the details of other short-term housing programs with federal officials first, delaying the launch of PREPS into December, four months after the floodwaters receded.

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By the time PREPS contractors got to Howard Higdon’s house in northeast Houston, he had been dealing with a “wildfire” of mold, as he put it, for months.

PREPS covers mold treatments — such as the disinfecting spray Higdon saw contractors use on his walls — but not full mold remediation. Higdon said he was not surprised when the insulation and drywall installed by PREPS contractors molded within days, and had to be torn out by volunteers later.

Sitting on an outdoor recliner with his pet dachshund, Higdon said he was glad PREPS got him a new front door and a new ramp leading to it. But Higdon, who moves with a walker, said the workers’ ability to help him was so limited they might as well not have come.

“They need to do it right or not do it at all, in my book. You’re just wasting the government’s money,” Higdon said. “I’m just going to live with the mold. It’s enough to make you want to just walk away from your house.”

Eck said GLO officials have discussed the mold issue with FEMA, but said residents’ chief complaints about the program have been about the limited scope of work and questions about whether work was completed properly.

“If it’s not going to be sufficient to get them back into the house or if there continue to be issues, that’s something we’ll look to address,” Eck said. “But under the limitations of these programs, we work with the individuals on the agreed-to scope of work and attempt to try to get them back into their house so they can continue repairs for the full recovery.”

West Street Recovery, the nonprofit that helped Higdon, and other housing advocates say the GLO must more clearly communicate the program’s limitations to participants, and cannot declare repaired homes truly livable without more effectively addressing mold problems.

“No one knows how PREPS works. The homeowners don’t know how it works, the contractors don’t know how it works, and the GLO doesn’t know how it works … their answers are inconsistent,” said Ben Hirsch, director of partnerships for West Street Recovery. “We have a very small sample size. We know 25 people who’ve been through PREPS and this is their experience. There’s no way that we just happened to find the 25 worst homes.”

Eck stressed that PREPS brochures clearly state the effort’s limitations and that residents sign a form agreeing to the scope of work before repairs begin.

Still, she said, “We want to hear if there’s an issue. We’re eager to make sure, to the extent we’re able, to help that those who are recovering from this disaster have the information they need and receive the assistance we’re able to provide.”